"He approaches the wicket and releases the ball. I'm about to find out what it's really like to face a top class bowler.

 

It hangs there in the air.

If someone bowled a ball like this to me in a Baldwin match, I'd probably stop it with my glove, sling it back to the bowler and tell him, 'Never mind, have another go...' In fact, I might say it anyway, once it's been retrieved from the far stands.

Perhaps age has caught up with the Indian master. Or perhaps he was never quite as good as we all thought. Perhaps none of them are.

But then something inexplicable occurs. The ball, having seemed suspended in the air from some invisible string with the words 'Hit Me' on it, suddenly dips and loops at the last second. It pitches just short of a length, spits like a cobra and climbs at a scientifically unfeasible angle. Striking the outside edge of my bat it balloons gently into the air and is caught with pathetic ease by the wicketkeeper."

Michael Simkins – Fatty Batter.

 You won't find many better descriptions of a master spinner totally deceiving a batsman than that. The great Bishan Bedi at work.

Mastery of flight or loop can take many years. However you can speed up the process with some simple practice methods that can be done alone.

I know you heard me say it weeks ago: The World Cup final would be played between Australia and New Zealand. It wasn't a lucky guess at all. Both nations have a whole heap of things in place to make that 2015 World Cup Final pairing almost a formality in my mind.

This is my guide to how the World Cup was won.

Iain Brunnschweiler knows his stuff. He is England Development Programme Coach and runs Inspired Cricket. What coach or player wouldn't want to pick his brains?

That's exactly what PitchVision Academy did recently. In frustration at seeing net sessions wasted, I turned to Brunchy for some advice, and his answer was so simple it shocked me.

From today, Runmaker, the cricket coaches guide to developing high-class batsmen and runmakers from Graham Gooch , is available exclusively on PitchVision Academy.

Click here for full details.

The man with over 67,000 professional runs has - for almost 30 years - coached batsmen for both Essex and England to emulate his technical knowledge, powers of concentration and incredible work-ethic. Now, through his streaming video course, he will show you how to develop the next generation built for scoring reliable, "daddy" innings in all situations.

To do this, Gooch has developed a system of player development that brings out the best technical skill, attitude and concentration in each individual. If you coach batsmen at any level, the Runmaker system shows you how to get the best from them no matter what their personality and individual skill.

All the streaming videos are split into chapters to make it totally relevant to your needs, and the accompanying eBook lets you take the advice anywhere:

• Batting drills used by Gooch
• The technical "non-negotiables" of batting
• Ways to deal with talented but difficult players
• A systematic coaching method that covers the four most important aspects of coaching runmakers
• Ways to coach a better work ethic into batters

The course was filmed at the Essex County Ground, with detailed streaming video demonstrations of techniques and drills alongside an insightful interview that taps deeply into Gooch's thinking as a coach.

Unlike a traditional coaching manual or DVD, you can interact with others on the course, take on the advice and video tips and apply them immediately. The eBook can be downloaded and read anywhere, any time.

It's a coaching masterclass.

Graham Gooch scored over 8,000 Test runs and, since retiring has been teaching batsmen at Essex and England to emulate his efforts. Here's a short video with some of his tips and insights.

This is the second part of the interview filmed at the County Ground in Chelmsford. This time we talked about how to coach runmakers in nets. Here is the video:

I am building a new team at Millfield School this year. This is a huge challenge for the coach, captain and the players who will make up that team.

Whilst I have worked individually with a couple of the players in the one to one programme, I am starting from scratch with 9 of the group. The brutal reality is that we have a 10 week period together to form a team and to work towards playing some really good cricket together.

With that, I was searching for a way to get a deeper understanding of the players within the squad so I "borrowed" a great trick from Olympian swimmer Euan Dale.

A while back I asked for your questions on batting for England hero, Graham Gooch. Here is the first installment of his answers for you.

Filmed at the County Ground in Chelmsford, home of Essex County Cricket Club, Goochie took the time to talk about a range of topics. Here is the video:

How to Become a Cricketer, the total guide to achieving your cricket dreams from respected coach Monty Desai, is out now, exclusively on PitchVision Academy.

As you know, recently we announced the Rajasthan Royals Talent Scout and Academy Coach was revealing his methods in his first ever online coaching courses. Tody you can get your hands on three courses that teach you how to become a cricketer

Get them now. Click here to buy the online coaching courses.

It was a league match and we had just taken a wicket. A kid of about 15 came out looking nervous, as they often do. I reckon it was one of his first senior cricket games because he looked like a fish out of water.

He was small for his age anyway, and this was exacerbated by the wide framed men that stood around the bat. Our spinner was on. They were sharks circling their prey waiting for the slightest mistake.

He scratched around for a while and we soon came to the conclusion he was not going to last long. That was until he got a half volley on leg stump. He unleashed one of the finest on drives I have seen. The ball raced to the long boundary in a blur.

It's a scene that you can see at every level of cricket all over the world.

Why it is that seemingly 'weak' players like that kid can hit the ball so hard?

This is a cracking drill for wicket keepers standing back using equipment that is becoming commonplace within coaching kitbags around the world.

We are presently in a "specific preparation phase" of the programme, so much of the aim of our sessions are build volume into both keepers "catch" and to free up the movement patterns to both right and left handed batters.

The session was for two keepers. They swapped every six balls to simulate overs. We ran the session in a confined net area so I ensured that we maximised the width of the area so the keepers could move freely for offside takes and for simulated outside edges. It's just as easy to run outdoors or in the open, or both.

You can use a Sidearm, bowling machine or bowlers for the drill.

You'll also need Fusion Multi-stumps